Teaching aids

Abstract

An improved teaching aid including a plurality of parts, each of the parts having arithmetic indicia printed thereon, the parts being operatively coupled and relatively moveable with respect to each other to vary the location of the arithmetic indicia of one part with respect to the arithmetic indicia of the other part for presenting a student with different preselected arithmetic indicia representing different arithmetic problems to be solved.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A learning aid for use by a student in comprehending mathematical concepts comprising: an opaque member formed to provide a channel and with the word "DECIMALS" and a first decimal point on one side and with the words "WHOLE NUMBERS" and a second decimal point on the other side; and   a strip of material with a plurality of numerals printed thereon receivable in the channel whereby the strip of material may be moved from one end of the opaque member to the other to demonstrate one of a plurality of whole numbers or to demonstrate one of a plurality of decimals as a function of the side of the opaque member read by the student and the position of the strip with respect to the opaque member.   
     
     
       2. The learning aid as set forth in claim 1 and further including a handle extending downwardly from one lower edge of the opaque member. 
     
     
       3. The learning aid as set forth in claim 1 wherein the first decimal point is near the lower right hand corner on the one side and the second decimal point is near the lower left hand corner of the other side. 
     
     
       4. An improved teaching aid comprising: a transparent member formed of two parallel plates coupled together adjacent to their upper and lower edges to define a channel therebetween;   a strip having a plurality of numerals formed thereon, the strip being receivable in the channel; and   a decimal point formed on a front lower portion of one of the plates whereby the strip may be moved one way or the other within the channel to demonstrate certain different whole or decimal numbers as a function of the location of the strip within the channel.   
     
     
       5. The teaching aid as set forth in claim 4 wherein the parallel plates are coupled together by small plastic spacer strips extending horizontally along the upper and lower edges of the parallel plates. 
     
     
       6. The teaching aid as set forth in claim 4 and further including an opaque rod with a loop in the upper end suspendable from the upper edge of the transparent member between preselected numerals of the strip for assisting in the teaching of rounding off of decimals or whole numbers. 
     
     
       7. For use by teachers in the teaching of mathematics, an improved device comprising: a large main plate having numerals thereon;   medium side plates independently pivotable about adjacent vertical edges of the main and side plates to bring either a dollar sign or a decimal point on the side plates into view with the indicia of the main plate; and   small bottom plates with decimal points independently pivotable about adjacent horizontal edges of the main and bottom plates to selectively bring the decimal points of the bottom plates into view with the indicia of the main plate.   
     
     
       8. The device as set forth in claim 7 wherein all the plates are opaque. 
     
     
       9. A device for use in teaching arithmetic to a student comprising: a pedestal formed of a rigid material shaped with a horizontal base portion and a vertical upstanding portion with the numeral "0" printed centrally with respect to the upstanding portion;   two independently pivotable arms extending outwardly from the upstanding portion;   negative numerals sequentially printed on one arm locatable to the left of the numeral "0";   positive numerals sequentially printed on the other arm locatable to the right of the numeral "0";   apertures extending through the arms and through the pedestal; and   a pin positionable through the arms and pedestal whereby the arms may be extended outwardly or upwardly with preselected numerals on the arms being covered to illustrate certain conceptual principles of addition and subtraction.   
     
     
       10. The improved teaching aid as set forth in claim 9 wherein the pedestal is formed in an inverted "T"-shaped configuration. 
     
     
       11. An improved teaching aid comprising: a transparent member with a plurality of zones laterally located side by side;   letters written in each zones representing units of measurement, the letters written in the three left zones including "K" and "H" and "D" indicative of the prefixes Kilo (1,000) and Hecta (100) and Deca (10), the letters written in the three right zones including "d" and "c" and "m" indicative of the prefixes deci (1/10) and centi (1/100) and mili (1/1000); and   a strip with a written numeral followed by a series of zeros selectively positionable beneath the letters of the zones for teaching the relationship between numbers and units including parts and multiples thereof.   
     
     
       12. The teaching aid as set forth in claim 11 wherein the spacing between the zone of the transparent member is equal to the spacing between the numeral and zeroes of the strip. 
     
     
       13. The teaching aid as set forth in claim 12 and further including a central zone between the three left zones and three right zones of the transparent member.